22 Fun, Interesting, and Weird Facts About The Bluenose Coast

1. White Star Line Ship, SS Atlantic sunk off the coast of what is now Lower Prospect in 1873. The shipwreck was the greatest marine loss of life at the time.

2. In 1998 Swissair Flight 111 crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia. There were no survivors from the crash.

3. Two memorials were erected to mark the tragedy of Swissair Flight 111, one near Peggy’s Cove, and the other on the Aspotogan Peninsula in Bayswater. The two memorials, and the crash site create a triangle.

4. From Mid May to Mid September Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse serves as a post office.

5. The Shore Club in Hubbards has held a dance every summer Saturday night since its opening in 1946, and is often referred to as the ‘Last Dance Hall in Nova Scotia’

6. Popular dishes of the early settler’s of Chester were porcupine, and baked beaver.

7. The population of small town Chester nearly doubles during the summer months because of the many people who choose to spend their summer in Chester.

8. Chester Race Week is the largest annual keelboat regatta in Canada. The regatta draws in the rich & famous for a week of high-class racing.

10. In the 1920’s a family from East Chester started up a maternity home, referred to as a ‘black market for babies’ where people could pay thousands of dollars for the baby of their choice. It has been said that the babies deemed undesirable were starved to death.

11. In 1813 the Teazer was chased into Mahone Bay and surrounded by a British Ship. Instead of accepting capture, a crew member set the ship on fire- nearly everyone on board died within minutes. There are still sightings of the ghost, Teazer in Mahone Bay that are reported.

12. The Oak Island treasure hunt has been ongoing since 1795.

13. Franklin Roosevelt, who had later become the 32nd US President, was a part of the 1909 expedition of Oak Island.

14. There are over 350 Islands in Mahone Bay.

15. Lunenburg is the best example that is still visible today of a successful planned British colonial settlement in North America.

16. Lunenburg is one of only three World UNESCO Heritage Sites in Nova Scotia.

17. Lunenburg is home of the Bluenose II.

18. The original Bluenose was undefeated, winning the International Fisherman’s Trophy 18 years in a row.

19. The Oven’s, privately owned property, was once the location of a Gold Rush in 1861. You can still go panning for gold on Cunard’s beach.

20. A fire destroyed the original downtown area of Bridgewater in 1899.

21. Bluenoser’s often refer to people who have moved to Nova Scotia from a different province as CFA’s (Come From Away).

22. Lunenburg is home to an architectural detail called the ‘Lunenburg Bump’. It is a central dormer that is extended out, and down from the roof.